Boltless railroad-splice.



C. L.. NEAT.

' BOLTLESS RAILROAD SPLICE.

APPLleMmM FILED Ava. 15.1913.

Patented Aug, 13, MM..

CLIFJFO 11 `I`i L. NEAT, 0F YELM, HINGTON.

V ncii'rnnss analicen-semen.

sperimentaof Lettera retenir.

' Patented Aug. 1a, 191s.

Appiiounn mea April is, iei'a. serial no. aaaeei.

To all whom z'tmay concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFFORD L; NEAT, .a

citizen of the United States, residing at Yelm, inthe county of Thurston, State of Washington, have invented certain new and..

useful Improvements in Boltless Railroad- Splices; and li do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description y of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to ma e and use the same. i

his invention relates to a rail joint, and more particularly to the class of boltless railway rail splicers.

The primary object of the invention is the provision 'of a splicer of this character wherein the rail ends can be joined or held in their meeting relation to each other without the possibility of any lateral or sidewise displacement of the rail ends, and thesame will be held firm to afford a smooth joint so as to avoid the pounding of the car `wheels when traveling thereover without requiring the use of bolts or other similar fasteners.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a splicer of this character `wherein the weight of the load uponthe rail ends will automatically operate iion the rails to cause the same to be more rmly gripped by the splicerto increase the ipiing thereof upon the rail ends for the ol same at the joint.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a splicer of this character wherein the construction thereof is novel in form to assure the secure fastening of the rail ends together, and to avoid lateral or vertical displacement thereof.

A further object of the invention is the iprovision 'of a splicer of this character which 1s extremely simple in construction, possessing minimum parts, readily and easily applied to the rail end, strong,durable and inex ensive to manufacture and install.

ith this and other objects in view the -invention consists in the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fully described,l

illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out inthe claims hereunto appended. i

In the accompanying drawing j Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the meeting ends of a pair of` railway rails showing the splicer constructed in accordance with the invention applied;

. gether 4turned or curved fla ing of they flange 8 with respect to the flange. 6 which i Fig. 2 .is a side elevationthereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectionalview on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

4is a perspective View of one of the parts of the splicer;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the other part thereof;

Similar reference characters indicate cor- -responding parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

Referring to the drawing in detail, A and B designate the meetin ends respectively of a pair of railway ra' s of the usual well known construction, which are joined toby the splicerfhereinafter fully described. i

The splicer com rises a. main or bottom plate 5 which is adapted to be disposed beneath the rail ends to underlie the joint or meeting extremities thereof, and is supported upon adjacent cross ties. The baseer bottom plate 5 at one lon r or side edge is formed with an upwariilf and inwardly e 6 which is adapted to engage the bases i of the rail ends at one side thereof, the major portion of the plate 5 being laterally inclined relativel to the bottom faces of the bases 7 of the rail ends and the opposite longer or side edge of said plate is formed with a downwardly and upwardly curved or rounded larger extends around the'bases 7 of the rail ends at the opposite side thereof and spaced therefrom for a purpose presently described.

Inserted between ,the inclined major portion of the plateiA ofthe splicer and the top faces of adjacent ties are substantially wedge shaped leveling blocks 9which serve to level the base or bottom plate 5 on said ties, the flange 8 at its lowermost portion being formed with apertures or' holes 10 for the reception of. 4 spikes 11 which are driven therethrough into.` the ties for the fastening of the plate thereon.

Removably engageable in the flange 8 is a clamping key which is formed with the rounded portion 12 and the slightly curved the bases 7 of the rail ends, which bases at their under faces contact with the said edge 14 while the edge 15 of the key contacts with the upper faces of the bases 7 of the rail ends so that any weight resultant from the `load upon the rails will serve to tightly jam the key 'in the ange 8 and cause the edge of the key to tightly grip the bases 7 of the rail ends thereby firmly clamping the rail ends to hold the same secure in the splicer.

Formed in the outer faces of the flanges '-Whatisclaimed isz.' v 2bl :construction and manner of operation ofthe splicer will be clearly understood, and therefore a more extendedxexplanation has been omitted.

1. The combination with a pair of rails arranged end to end, of a splicer comprising a base plate lying beneath the rail ends and engaged therewith at one side thereof, a rounded flange on the base plate at the other side of the rail ends and a key insertible in said flange and having a curved portion engaged with thel bottoms of the I and engaged therewith at one side thereof 40 rail ends, and an opposite curved portion engageable with the tops of the base flanges of said rail ends.l

2. The combination with a pair of rails arranged end to end, of a splicer comprising a base plate lying beneath the rail ends a rounded flange on the base plate at the other side of the rail ends and a key insertible in said flange and having a curved portion engaged with the bottoms of the rail ends, an opposite curved portion engageable with the tops of the base ianges of said rail ends,

' and means for leveling the base plate.

3. The combination `with a pair of rails arranged end to end, of a splicer comprising abase plate lying beneath the rail ends and engaged therewith at one side thereof, a

rounded'flange on the base plate `at the other side of the rail ends and a key insertible in said flange and having a curved portion engaged with the bottoms of the rail ends, an

opposite curved Iportion engageable with the tops of thev base flanges of said rail ends,

and means engaged in the rst named flange y forming for fastening the plate against displacement. I

.4. The combination with a pair of rails arranged end to end, of a base plate disposed beneath the bases of the rail ends and having a laterally inclined major portion, a

rail ends are subjected to a load.

5. vThe combination with a pair of rails arranged end to end, of a base plate disposedbeneath the bases of the rail ends and having a laterally inclined major portion, a

flange at one side edge of the plate and engageable with the bases of the rail ends, a downwardly and upwardly rounded flange at the opposite edge of said side plate, means a locking key arranged within the last named flange and forming a fulcrum for the bases of the rails to automatically 'cause the gripping of the key with the tops of the 'bases of said flanges when the rail ends ,are subjected to a load, and means for fastening the plate against longitudinal and lateral displacement.

6. The combinationwith a pair of rail/s arranged end to end, of a base plate disposed beneath the bases of the rail ends and having a laterally inclined major portion, a flange at one side of the plate and engageable with the bases of the rail ends, a downwardly and upwardly rounded {iange at the opposite edge of said side plate, means forming a lock-key arranged within the last named 'flange and forming a fulcrum for the bases of the rails to automatically cause the gripping of the key with the tops of the bases of said lianges when the rail ends are subjected to a load, means for fastening the plate against longitudinal and lateral displacement, and blocks engaged beneath the major portion of the plate to sustain the same level.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

CLIFFORD L. NEAT. Witnesses:

WINsToN NEAT, G. W. N nA'r. 

